War memorial of the 24th Division, Battersea Park

The war memorial in Battersea Park commemorates the 24th Division and dates from the First World War. Designed and sculpted by Eric Henri Kennington RA (1888-1960), it is constructed from Portland stone. The memorial features three infantry soldiers depicted with helmets, rifles and full kit, accompanied by a serpent at their feet. The figure on the left was modelled on the poet and writer Robert Graves. The columnar base is inscribed with "XXIV Division France 1914-1918" around the top, above the unit badges of the twenty regiments that comprised the Division. The memorial commemorates over 10,000 men killed or missing presumed dead whilst serving with the 24th Infantry Division. It was unveiled on 4 October 1924 by Field Marshall Plumer and the Bishop of Southwark. The memorial is considered of both historic and visual interest, demonstrating elegant sculptural qualities in its depiction of infantry soldiers by the renowned war artist Eric Kennington. It is an unusually avant-garde war memorial, notable for its depiction of Robert Graves, author of the war memoir 'Goodbye to All That'. The memorial sits within the registered grade II* Battersea Park.